Business Research Methods William G Zikmund Chapter 20

Business Research Methods William G. Zikmund Chapter 20: Basic Data Analysis: Descriptive Statistics

Descriptive Analysis • The transformation of raw data into a form that will make them easy to understand interpret; rearranging, ordering, and manipulating data to generate descriptive information

Type of Measurement Type of descriptive analysis Two categories Nominal More than two categories Frequency table Proportion (percentage) Frequency table Category proportions (percentages) Mode

Type of Measurement Type of descriptive analysis Ordinal Rank order Median

Type of Measurement Type of descriptive analysis Interval Arithmetic mean

Type of Measurement Ratio Type of descriptive analysis Index numbers Geometric mean Harmonic mean

Tabulation • Tabulation - Orderly arrangement of data in a table or other summary format • Frequency table • Percentages

Frequency Table • The arrangement of statistical data in a rowand-column format that exhibits the count of responses or observations for each category assigned to a variable

Central Tendency Type of Scale Measure of Central Tendency Measure of Dispersion Nominal Ordinal Interval or ratio Mode Median Mean None Percentile Standard deviation

Cross-Tabulation • A technique for organizing data by groups, categories, or classes, thus facilitating comparisons; a joint frequency distribution of observations on two or more sets of variables • Contingency table- The results of a crosstabulation of two variables, such as survey questions

Cross-Tabulation • • Analyze data by groups or categories Compare differences Contingency table Percentage cross-tabulations

Base • The number of respondents or observations (in a row or column) used as a basis for computing percentages

Elaboration and Refinement • Moderator variable – A third variable that, when introduced into an analysis, alters or has a contingent effect on the relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable. – Spurious relationship • An apparent relationship between two variables that is not authentic.

Quadrant Analysis Two rating scales 4 quadrants two-dimensional table Importance. Performance Analysis)

Data Transformation • Data conversion • Changing the original form of the data to a new format • More appropriate data analysis • New variables

Data Transformation Summative Score = VAR 1 + VAR 2 + VAR 3

Collapsing a Five-Point Scale • Strongly Agree • Neither Agree nor Disagree • Strongly Disagree • Strongly Agree/Agree • Neither Agree nor Disagree • Disagree/Strongly Disagree

Index Numbers • Score or observation recalibrated to indicate how it relates to a base number • CPI - Consumer Price Index

Calculating Rank Order • Ordinal data • Brand preferences

Tables • Bannerheads for columns • Studheads for rows

Charts and Graphs • Pie charts • Line graphs • Bar charts – Vertical – Horizontal

Line Graph

Bar Graph

Web. Surveyor Bar Chart

Computer Programs • • • SPSS SAS SYSTAT Microsoft Excel Web. Surveyor

Microsoft Excel -Data Analysis

The Paste Function Provides Numerous Statistical Operations

Computer Programs • Box and whisker plots • Interquartile range - midspread • Outlier

Interpretation • The process of making pertinent inferences and drawing conclusions • concerning the meaning and implications of a research investigation